As ever,
Sunday Mornings at Avenue (Stephens) House continue in the usual vein with the
‘usual suspects’. Good work is again being done on the Clitterhouse Farm 2016
(site code CTH 16) excavation finds analysis, with all finds now washed and
marked. The bulk finds sheets have also been completed. More medieval pottery
has been identified from across the site, to supplement the three sherds
of southHertfordshire type grey Ware
(MOLA fabric code SHER, 1170-1350) found in 2015, including a body sherd
of SHER and two body sherds of early
south-Hertfordshire type coarse ware
(ESHER) dated 1050-1200 – our first potential Conquest period pottery
from the site.

Contemporary
with these is a single small body sherd of early medieval coarse sand- tempered
ware (EMCS, 1050-1200)

There is
also a single body sherd of late medieval Hertfordshire glazed ware (LMHG, 1340- 1450). All of the 2016 medieval pottery is from
disturbed residual contexts, unlike the SHER found in 2015 in a presumed
primary ditch fill.

This is an
exciting development pushing back the known chronology of the site.

Footpads Talk: A Reflection on
Finchley Common robberies. Simon
Williams

Simon adds some more local details
following on from the report on the talk on footpads in South London by
Margarette Lincoln in the January newsletter.

At its
peak, Finchley Common was 5.0 km2; by enclosure (1816) it was reduced to
3.6km2; of mostly woodland---comprising Copetts Wood, Coldfall Wood & The
Glebelands; it sprawled from East Finchley to Barnet.

The famous
clown 'Joey' Joseph Grimaldi 1778-1837 (who single-handedly revolutionised the
clown from the Shakespearean rustic buffoon to the version we recognise today:
inventing face-paint, bright clothes, the pantomime catchphrase, combined with
it's star-act/pop personality- association, his one-time 'Hot Codlins' fame)
was robbed on Finchley Common c.1800; he lived near the present Finchley
Memorial Hospital. The Earl of Minto stated to his wife that he would not,
"trust my throat on Finchley Common in the dark". Edmund Burke MP was
also a victim in 1774. Villains associated with the Common include Jack
Shepard, Dick Turpin & the "Wicked Lady's" lover (he was caught
there).

Less famous
were 'Everett & Williams' who went as far as to draw up a legally witnessed
contract that they would split their plunder after a year's work in
1725.Gibbets were in use here from at least the 1670's, another was at Tally-Ho
Corner.

A combination of the Enclosure Act, paper
money which in 1797 was easily traceable (presumably because there wasn't much
in personal circulation?), together with the opening of the first bank in 1692
meant that travellers to London no longer carried huge amounts of gold on
them.

The Bow
Street Horse Patrol policed from Highgate to Barnet between 1805-51; was it
finally stopped due to reduced traffic?- in the advent of the railway
boom?

These possibly conspired to put the robbers
out of business? As one looks at the bleak unforgiving municipal streets of
Barnet today, albeit no Sylvan Idyll, we are all probably better- off?!

Bradford on Avon – Day 4Jim Nelhams

Thursday
started with a stop in the market town of Frome, from whence we moved on to
Wells. It seemed that few of our group had visited Frome before, and although a
number had been to Wells, few had visited the Bishop’s Palace. We started in
Frome at the parish church on a hill above the town centre before making our
way down Cheap Street to the Museum, yet another important organisation run
entirely by volunteers.

St John the Baptist Church, FromeDudley Miles

The
original church was built in 685 by Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne and a leading
Anglo-Saxon scholar. Virtually nothing survives of his church, and it was
remodelled on several occasions, most notably in the thirteenth century, and in
the Victorian period, when it had fallen into a derelict state and much of it
was rebuilt by the controversial Anglo-Catholic priest, W. J. E. Bennett.

The Lady
Chapel dates back to Norman times and has a Saxon window, as well as ten
windows by the leading Victorian stained glass designer, Charles Kempe. Another
survival is St Nicholas Chapel, now the baptistery, which dates to 1408 and has
a fine thirteenth-century font.

Several of
us were fascinated by two Saxon stones. The upper one, which dates to the
eighth century, is part of a vertical shaft of a cross, while the lower one,
which is ninth century, is a carving of an animal. Sadly, there is no evidence
that the stones were part of the Anglo-Saxon church.

A unique
feature is the nineteenth-century Via Crucis or Way of the Cross, a set of
statues illustrating Christ’s road to Calvary on a processional way up the
steps to the church. Unfortunately, the gate from the street to the
processional way is now locked.

Cheap Street, FromeBeverley Perkins

Down the
hill from the St John's Church lies Cheap Street, the original shopping street
of Frome (from the Saxon name for barter – ceap). Frome was granted a charter for a market in
1239 and the street itself dates from that period. However, the existing buildings were mainly
constructed in the 1500s and, following a fire, in the 1830s. Although some half-timbered buildings with
jettied upper storeys remain, the origins of most are disguised by more recent
frontages and by modern shop windows at ground floor level. No. 11 Cheap Street, a Tudor house with
overhanging jetties and massive beams carved with rosettes, is the oldest house
in Frome. A narrow rivulet runs down the
centre of the cobbled street – picturesque, but a hazard for walkers!

Frome MuseumClaudette Carlton

Frome
Museum is situated in a Georgian house. At present the Museum is located on the
ground floor, but there are plans to extend to the upper floor of the building
next year.

There is a
very elegant staircase connecting the floors of the house.

The group
was welcomed by Emma and David Robinson, members of HADAS, who, although
resident in Colindale, spend a lot of their time in Frome. Emma is Chair of the
Trustees of the Museum. Tea, coffee and very good cake were provided for the
group, for which many thanks.

There is a
fascinating cabinet of curiosities in the museum, pictorial records of the
casting of bronzes in the Singer foundry in Frome, including that of Boudicca/
Boudicia, which now stands on the Thames Embankment and of Sheppards Mills, a
textiles mill sited in Spring Gardens Frome. In its heyday children as young as
7 years worked there, 6am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, and up to 2pm on Saturday.
The mill closed in 1878.

There was
also a display of the record of one local man's service in the Great War, his
medals and other memorabilia; and another about Siegfried Sassoon, some of his
poems, and a brief account of his life.

Many thanks
to HADAS for allowing me to do this trip, and to the group for their good
company.

Bishop’s Palace, WellsKen Sutherland Thomas

On arrival
in Wells, we were presented with a wealth of historic sites to visit including
the Bishop’s Palace and the Cathedral.

On entering
the Palace grounds and skirting the appealing coffee shop, I planned firstly to
explore the gardens and to enjoy the views from the walkway on the ramparts.
The Palace has been the home of the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800
years.

The gardens
are about 14 acres in extent and include a number of pools (where the original
wells were in times past the fresh water source for the local population).

Some of the
pools afford wonderful reflections of Wells Cathedral.

I did not
have time to explore the Arboretum which is also part of the grounds. With the
time limited, I joined a group of visitors for a tour of the Palace buildings
open to the public.

The Palace
partly dates from the 13th century and work commenced on it when Bishop
Joselin Trotman received a Royal licence to build a residence and Deer Park on
land to the south of Wells Cathedral, St Andrews.

Our guide
took us into the vaulted undercroft and then up an impressive staircase to what
in past times would be the rooms where the Bishop ate and slept as well as
entertained. We viewed the large gallery with many paintings of past Bishops as
well as other artefacts.

Exiting the
Palace, time allowed for a short visit to the ruins of the Great Hall. Built in
1290 for Bishop Burnell, the remains are the most impressive example of a
Medieval open hall. It was built in Early English Decorative style. The
remaining large windows frame beautiful views of the Cathedral.

Leaving the
Palace grounds, I briefly joined many other visitors hoping to see the Wells
Swans on the moat around the Palace. The swans are renowned for ringing a bell
when it is feeding time.

Wells CathedralFrances Radford

Wells is
one of the most memorable of English Cathedrals due externally to the grandeur
of the West Walls and internally to the unique scissor like structure which
dominates the view from the nave.

The façade
of the West Front presents as a giant screen intended for a display of
statuary. The great breadth of the front is emphasised by two string courses
which define three horizontal zones countered by the verticals of the
buttresses.

The lowest section contained scenes from both
Old and New Testaments. Above this, statues of knights and ladies, kings and
queens, bishops and saints and above them a row of the twelve disciples. At the
top, centrally placed, a figure of Christ in Majesty. St Andrew, the patron
saint of the cathedral is represented.

Many
figures were damaged or disappeared later, but in their original state were, no
doubt, intended to educate and impress the public, underlining the importance
of the Cathedral and the Christian religion. It must have been particularly
impressive when the west front was painted in bright colours or red, blue and
green, providing a dramatic background for religious processions such as on
Palm Sunday.

The first
thing that strikes you as you arrive in the nave is the extraordinary
scissorlike structure at the entrance to the quire, built 1338. The pale colour
of the stonework plus the unusual shape gives, at first glance, a modern feel
to the building. Its pointed arch fits well with the Gothic arches in the nave,
making it part of the whole. The scissor arches were erected on three sides of
the crossing in order to support the tower, as it had begun to crack and lean.
One cannot help but be amazed at the ingenuity and skill of these early
builders – (without all our modern technology).

The great
Jesse Window above the high altar shows Christ’s family tree from the beginning
with Jesse, the father of King David. In the Lady Chapel, there are more
windows of note, four out of five of which are completely composed of fragments
of ancient glass rescued after the destruction the Cathedral suffered as the
result of the Civil War (1662-7) and the Monmouth Rebellion (1685). These
jumbled fragments assembled together have made very beautiful windows.

The Lady
Chapel is an elongated octagon but open westwards so is not separate from the
body of the Cathedral. The floor has an intricate pattern of Victorian style
tiles in black, cream and terracotta, while above, the ribs of the vault become
a central star, painted as a copy of the original decoration.

Outside
this chapel is a tall brass lectern inscribed to Dr Robert Creyghton who
returned after fifteen years’ exile. “His Sovereign Lord King Charles II made
him Dean of Wells in 1660” and gave the lectern to the Cathedral.

The
misericords, beautifully carved, and the carvings on the capitals and corbel
stones give a picture of life at the workers’ level; man with toothache, man
removing a thorn from his foot, trout stealers being beaten, and a sleeping
cat: also the headstone said to be of master craftsman Adam Lock.

Alas, due
to shortage of time, many other treasures were missed including the Chapter
House.

“Although
their mason-craft is much more agreeable than modern concrete, in their
audacity, even starkness, they carry analogies with certain contemporary
structures, especially bridges, in that material.

Accordingly,
there are those who wax enthusiastic about the strainer arches of Wells; but
the plain truth can only be that in a building so exquisitely detailed, so
abounding in subtleties, they are a grotesque intrusion” What do you think?

Vicars' CloseKatie McGrath

Vicars
Choral, the men who sing in the choir at Wells Cathedral, have been established
since 1140. In 1348 they were
incorporated as a College of Vicars when the dining hall above the archway
leading into the close came into use.
This allowed them to transact their business and eat communally. The houses were completed by 1363. Originally there were 42 small houses forming
a quadrangle with a chapel for the vicars at the far end, above which was their
Library. In 1466 further alterations
were made and the chimneys were raised and crowned with tall decorative
octagonal stacks. Round about this time
a Chain Bridge was built to link Vicars' Hall with the Cathedral, and gardens
were introduced. Following the Reformation in the 15th century the number of
vicars was reduced and they were allowed to marry, so the houses were put
together to form larger dwellings and Vicars' Close took on its present
appearance. Today, together with the
choristers, the Vicars Choral sing services every day in term time. They still live in the Close, as do other
members of the Cathedral foundation, including the Organist and Master of the
Choristers. Altogether Vicars' Close is
an exceptional group of buildings and forms an important part of the whole
Cathedral complex.

It is claimed to be the oldest purely
residential street with original buildings surviving intact inEurope.

January Lecture Report – My Uncle,
the Battle of Britain VC

by James Nicolson Lecture
Report by Andy Simpson

A small
group of HADAS members and visitors enjoyed this most informative talk.

The
first-born son of the Nicolson family is traditionally called James. Our
speaker continues the tradition with the eldest of his two sons. However, just
to confuse matters, the subject of the talk - Wing Commander Eric James
Brindley Nicolson VC DFC (29 April 1917 – 2 May 1945) was christened Eric,
called Nick in the RAF, and

Bill by his
family! Of some 150,000 aircrew on wartime ops in the RAF (of whom 55,000 died
in Bomber Command alone), just 26 were awarded Britain’s highest military
gallantry award, the Victoria Cross (VC), with Nicolson the only Fighter
Command Recipient.

Nicolson
was born at 38 Crediton Hill, Hampstead, living there until aged seven when the
family moved to Shoreham, West Sussex. Always keen on joining the RAF, an
initial attempt was unsuccessful so he joined a local engineering firm and
became a keen amateur cricketer. Being 6ft 3ins tall he was a good bowler. He
joined the RAF in October 1936, being posted to RAF Church Fenton in Yorkshire,
flying Gloster Gladiator biplane Fighters with No. 72 Squadron. As Section
Leader of three, his particular aircraft was serial number K6140. He became an
accomplished display pilot, even broadcasting to the crowd during the 1939 air
display. He and his fellow squadron members led a typically high-spirited
off-duty life, racing their MG sports cars in reverse around the airfield!

He was
careful however to give his ground crew five Players cigarettes each every
Friday morning. The then standard battle formation of a ‘vic’ of three aircraft
was too rigid. The two wingmen were meant to closely follow the leader and fire
their four Browning machine guns each on his lead, concentrating so hard on
keeping formation and not colliding with one another that they had little time
to detect incoming attacking fighters. The Germans, with their much looser
formations based on a ‘rotte’ (pair), even coined the term ‘row of idiots’ for
this formation.

The 72 Squadron aircraft swapped all-over
silver for hastily-applied camouflage at the time of the Munich Crisis in 1938.
A telling group photo of Nicolson and his six Squadron chums at this time led
to the recounting of the final toll – two badly burnt, two killed and two otherwise
wounded. At this time he also met a farmers’ daughter from Tadcaster –Muriel,
13 years his senior. She was reluctant at first due to the age gap, but in July
1939 they commenced a happy marriage.

The VC was
presented during an informal chat with the King at Buckingham Palace, his wife
being allowed to attend also. Nicolson felt awkward and was ordered to wear his
medal ribbon, which he usually hid by wearing an overcoat.

Fully
recovered by September 1941 and keen to get back to flying, Nicolson was posted
to India in 1942. Between August 1943 and August 1944 he was a Squadron Leader
and C.O. of No 27 Squadron, flying Bristol Beaufighters over Burma, being very
successfully teamed with his navigator and gaining the DFC and an
old-beforehis-time look in photographs. During this time he was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross and was involved with two squadron mascots – young
bear cubs who rather outgrew their welcome. One was shot and the other eventually
parachuted out over the jungle from a Dakota after he persistently returned to
base!

As a Wing
Commander, he was killed on 2 May 1945 when a RAF B-24 Liberator

‘R-Robert’
from No. 355 Squadron, in which he was flying as an observer for a bombing raid
on Rangoon, caught fire and crashed into the Bay of Bengal after two engines
failed.

Although he
was one of four of the crew of ten who made it into a dinghy after ditching and
were eventually found by a Catalina flying boat, he sadly drowned and his body
was not recovered. He is commemorated on
the Singapore Memorial.

Muriel Nicolson received the telegram
informing her of his death on 8 May 1945 – VE Day. He left an estate of just
£212, leaving Muriel in financial hardship; their son won a scholarship to
Rugby School. She never remarried, living to over 100, and eventually sold his
medals for £110,000 in 1983 – then a world record. They are now held by the RAF
Museum at Hendon. The RAF Museum also holds Spitfire Mk 1 K9942 (at RAFM
Cosford) flown by Nicolson with 72 Squadron in 1939-40.

An RAF
VC-10 transport carried his name in the 1970s/80s and a Battle of Britain
Memorial flight Hurricane carried the markings of his Hurricane for a while,
along with a RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighter for the 2016 display season.

(Stephens
House) 17 East End Road N3 3QE- Investigating our Local Community – Talk by
Archer Academy Year 7 Students and Air Pollution Survey of North Finchley Talk
by Chris Church Non-members £2 . Refreshments available.

Thursday 2
March 8pm Pinner Local History Society
Village Hall, Chapel Lane Car Park, Pinner. Pinner’s Grand Houses & the
People who Lived in Them – Presentation by Research Group - New Research by
Society Members . Visitors £2.

Wednesday
15th March, 7.30pm Willesden
Local History Society St Mary’s Church Hall, Neasden Lane, NW10 2TS (Nr.
Magistrates’ Court) The London Welsh School Talk by Elinor Delaney about its
history and current activities in Willesden & Stonebridge.

FEBRUARY
8pm The Great Barn at Harmondsworth- Past, Present and Future Talk by Justine
Bayley)

Thursday 30th
March, 8pm Finchley Society Avenue
House, East End Road N3 3QE Drawing Room. From Spare Bedroom to Woodside Park –
The Early Years of the North London Hospice Talk by Harriet Copperman O.B.E.
Non-members £2.